PLA Anti-Air Missile (SAM) systems

The Syrian military has criticised the Russian S-300 missile defence system, saying that it is largely ineffective against Israeli air strikes, Avia.pro reported yesterday. A Syrian military source told the Russian outlet that the radar used on the S-300 and the Pantsir-S systems has proven to be incapable of detecting and hitting Israeli cruise missiles on numerous occasions.

Other Russian air defence systems incorporated into Syria’s military infrastructure were said to be even more “backward”, such as the S-125, Osa and Igra air defence missiles.

This is not the first speculation about the effectiveness of these air defence systems, as they date back to the Soviet era and were supplied to the then USSR’s Syrian Baathist ally from the 1960s to the 1980s. They don’t bear comparison with more recent systems that Russia has manufactured, such as the S-400.

Radars which do work, however, are reportedly those manufactured and delivered by China in recent years, such as the long-range JY-27 and JYL-1 systems as well as the LLQ120 radar which detects low-altitude targets. These, the Syrian military has said, work successfully in their detection of Israeli missiles and help the success of some Russian air defence missiles. A potential solution, according to Avia.pro, could be to import more Chinese radars to work in conjunction with the Russian missiles.

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Biscuits said:

About the HQ-9 and 16, those are unsubstantiated claims. HQ-9 has publicly beaten competitors like patriot, Aster 30 and late S-300 variant.

China already have the HQ-9 and it’s variants for a long range missile. S-400 sale “proves” about as much about incapability to make a LRSAM as Gotland sale “proved” US incapability to make quiet submarines. If something is cheap, from an ally, usable and provide important details about potential adversaries, only an idiot would turn it down out of misguided pride.

Neither the Soviets nor the Americans have yet to field a missile in the class of the PL-15, or the PL-XX in advanced development.

Then there’s the question of missile smarts. Tbf, the S-400 “survived” the PLA’s jamming test regimen and hit a target cruise missile, but we don’t know if they threw all EW tricks at it or just a little bit.

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